Reading is a hobby like any other. You can pick up critical thinking skills from reading, but it’s not a prerequisite to start. Not everyone engages with books for the same reason, and not every book serves the same purpose. There are conversations like this a lot on this subreddit, and it seems to me that they essentially boil down to “who’s doing Reading better?” And the answer is no one. One of my favorite booktubers, allisonpaiges, says “if you’re reading, you’re winning.” If you’re participating in an activity that brings you joy, that’s a good thing. Some people are just here for the entertainment. Some people are here for learning and critical analysis. Some people are here to admire storytelling as an art form. All are good reasons to read.

Critical thinking doesn’t always mean criticize, and probably one of the best things you can learn is that your opinions on books don’t make you better than somebody else. Your opinion on Colleen Hoover IS just an opinion. You are NOT better for that.

I’m just happy if people are reading. I remember when the Twilight books came out. I made it about 3 chapters in before I gave up because they were terrible. My hope is that people will start with the bad books and gain confidence to move onto better material. We all started somewhere.

The issue is, yes there are objective parameters to classify a book, but books are art and art is almost wholly subjective.

There are very, very few objectively bad books. Plus, if someone else is enjoying it, what’s the point of ruining their experience?

>that writting is an skill and some people aren't good at it

This is a valid point but you also have to remember that what qualifies as "good" writing is subjective. What one person considers to be a well-crafted book might be horrible to another.

Look at all the discourse over the classics and whether or not they're actually well written.

I think you're conflating people being defensive when someone rudely comments on a video or content to tell CoHo fans that she's terrible (and therefore the fans are terrible) with an actual lack of literary criticism and discussion. People read for a variety of reasons and some don't want to break down the structure of a book or talk about the writing outside of their subjective enjoyment.

If you're looking to try to break down the structure of a book you dislike to understand why you may not like it, I'd suggest studying writing to be able to recognize those things and be able to discuss them with more confidence. You can also seek out content that better fits what you'd like to see in book reviews and book discussions, which may help you grow that way as well.

Yes. But Reddit subs like this contribute to it heavily. Look at the posts in r/books every week.

Same generic books come up over and over.

Project Hail Mary, Harry Potter, Brandon Sanderson

You don’t have to think critically at all to understand these books. There’s no shame in reading them, but if all the media you consume is like this no wonder there is no room for any discussion or nuanced opinions besides “I LOVED THIS BOOK.”

And yes everyone says “who cares what you read blah blah blah” but If people really can’t see the downside of only consuming clickbait, page turning type media, than that’s just wrong.

Reading is not all equal just as consuming any media isn’t.

People are reading and encouraging others to read. It seems like that is not nothing.

I say this as a person who avoids Tik Tok and YouTube, so I may not really know the scope of what you're saying. But, and this is a big but, if you are wanting more people in our society to thinking critically, I'm going to point you at the anti-vaxxers and tell you that they think that they are and no one is going to convince them otherwise. So good luck with trying to fix this through better Tik Toks.

I do think that booktok and booktube contribute to many people being unable to form their own and original opinions on the books they read. People are prone to mirroring the content creators they watch—what the creator thinks, they think. But everything is like that, from literature to politics. People have never been very good at thinking for themselves.

These content creators also dictate what is read, what becomes popular.

Explain how these channels would lead to a loss of critical thinking. What about watching booktok or booktube would cause me to be less skilled at critical thinking than I was prior to watching?

Failing that, all I’m getting from this post is a sense of elitism; you want to believe your taste in books is objectively better than these other people’s, when in fact, it’s not. Your opinions on books are opinions, same as theirs.

People have been blaming change for education levels since thousands of years ago. Ways of thinking and learning are always changing, doesn’t have to be a specifically good or bad thing, just different

Booktuber, as far as I can work out, are people advertising books for free in the hope they one day get paid for it. Or am I missing something?

Book tube is just a bunch of infomercials for books. As for subjective/objective good writing. It’s ok to let people like things. I’m big into fantasy and there are authors that write nothing but generic, derivative dribble that people think makes them the second coming of Tolkien. That’s ok tho. Let people like things.

>and found that a lot of these booktokers doesn't really understand that writting is an skill and some people aren't good at it, also that you can't talk positively about all the books just because some people might like them even if objectively they're bad for many reasons.

Writing, like all art, is a skill. But taste is subjective. While some books may be considered bad on a technical level, that doesn't necessarily mean it will detract from people's enjoyment of them. There's obviously something in these very popular books that many people enjoy. There's this pervasive elitism in many book spaces relating to the idea that modern, popular books are "less than." I think this idea unintentionally is intertwined with some problematic, unconscious belief systems.

That being said, I've definitely noticed a problem with toxic positivity regarding books and authors. This is a problem. I don't read Colleen Hoover, but I know she has a huge fanbase. Toxic positivity suffocates productive conversations, sometimes important ones that require critical reading, and the larger the fanbase, the more suffocating this will feel. This is not unique to Colleen Hoover, as I've seen it many times with Brandan Sanderson fans as well.

These are two separate points that have been sort of fused together without examining what's connecting them; capitalism. Books sell best by word of mouth. Developing a cult-like fanbase has proven to be an excellent way to make sales (think Hoover, Maas, Sanderson, anyone whose fans you wouldn't dare pick a fight with about the books because of their devotion to the books and authors). These things do not necessarily have to be perfect, they just have to inspire passion. Our very human love of storytelling and sharing is being exploited for profit.

The problem is that you're likely consuming the content of extremely young and likely inexperienced and undereducated people who've barely made it through a high school lit class. That's fine, but the source of the opinions you consume also matters if you're looking to expand your own intelligence and literary analysis. This depends on your goal, though. Finding someone who likes the books you like is great for those para-social relationships and building wonderful echo chambers, but also for finding real life book recs. But, the truth of the matter is that good opinions exist, and some people's opinions matter more than others within a certain scope of criteria. It's absolutely silly to say everyone's opinion has the same weight regarding art.

We can engage ethically or aesthetically, for example. We can judge the morals, the quality of writing, composition, style, etc. Those are all valid criticisms, and some may boil down to preference. I personally think we should all be critically engaged with the media we consume, including literary art. Nonfiction holds an even higher standard, btw, so if you find someone speaking of "all opinions are good, and no-one is better", please run as fast as you can after politely telling them what a load of utter codswallop it is they're spewing.

No, not at all. I think there’s this wide perception that critical thinking skills are declining with media, but, to be honest, I don’t think that’s actually true. Each generation of people has been getting more access to education and is becoming more educated. I think it’s just more people have access to a voice and so we’re getting a lot of “uncritical” takes that we wouldn’t have seen before. I think plenty of people have always had these kinds of thoughts, but before there wasn’t necessarily a place to voice them where others could see and interact with those thoughts. I also think most booktubers and booktokers don’t necessarily set themselves up as critical pages. They’re reviewers and trendsetters, not academics or critics and that’s okay. I have plenty of uncritical thoughts about books too. If you’re looking for critical takes on books, social media is not the place to be looking for them. You would need to look at either high brow magazines (New Yorker, New York Times, etc.) or literary magazines/journals (generally I use Google scholar to find them or go through my university library). In terms of developing more critical thinking skills, honestly the thing that’s helped me the most is keeping a reading journal. I have a physical one, but also a Google doc where I record my thoughts once I finish a book. That way, I’m getting an unfiltered look at my own thoughts before I look at anyone else’s. At first, you may have trouble writing a whole lot, or putting your finger on things, but after a while you’ll notice you’re better able to gauge your own interests and pet peeves with books.

No, we have more readers, more of them in it to relax, and more of those voices find you. It's big numbers and biases.

Tldr: Not everything needs to be academic or literary. It is okay to read or converse for fun and not serious discussion. Think about things in context before making any judgment calls.

I think that a lot of people do not construct their online comments with proper reasoning and support in general and it is not related to booktok or booktube. Those people either don't care to support their statements or they never learned how to.

Additionally, I think that before we form any kind of statement on booktok or booktube, we should first consider the purpose and audience of that content. A lot (not all, but a lot) of the people engaging in booktube discourse are not actually interested in any literary analysis or review. It is more about books for escapism or smut. Sure, a book might have been an absolute mess in plot and pacing, but booktube betty still enjoyed the ride! They just want to talk about their opinion without considering the book through any particular lens.

And that's okay!

There is nothing wrong with liking books for those reasons or having conversations about them.

When I write reviews or recommendations, I nearly always start with "If you are looking for something that...." or "If you like x, then..." because a sweeping statement really won't be that helpful to a reader. You gotta put things in context as both a reader and a writer.

As for your own critical thinking skills, here is my advice.

First, decide WHY you are reading a book. Personally, I read at least 2 books at a time. One is an ebook for fun and that other is a physical book that I read for literary value.

Next, try to keep you brain engaged while reading. While I read both of these books, I am actively asking questions of the story and characters, making predictions of what will happen next, noting the author's word choices etc. But I am focusing on different things. As for my fun book, I am guaging how and what in the book is giving me enjoyment and it is okay for me to lose myself in it tbh. For literature, I am anotating how the author uses various tools to craft the story.

I that capitalism, and all the hierarchy, double standards and gaslighting uesd to maintain it, cause us to lose critical thinking

Ideas expressed on Tiktok and YouTube are just a symptom of the greater problem

I occasionally watch videos about books. It's entertainment. Other times, I read professional journals about books, because I don't currently work in the field, that is also just entertainment.

In the end, you can't take it with you.

For most of us, it doesn't really matter how you interact with the book. If you get more out of it, good for you, but it matters little.

Unless your literary critiques are getting published or something, your thoughts and comprehension matter to nobody but you.

Critical thinking is just 'the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.'

Most fiction doesn't really require it.

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Reading in any form is going to be more conducive to critical thinking than consuming media via the internet, social media, etc. Even if you read Colleen Hoover, you're reading. This is far more engaging than staring at a screen.

It's definitely true when it comes to writing there are different levels of skill, and while Hoover might not be a particularly strong writer when it comes to prose or intricate plots, it doesn't devalue the act of reading itself. A lot of people like to flaunt the classics as if having read them is evidence of their superior intellect, but the truth is to appreciate books like Fahrenheit 451, you have to have read around enough to know what makes Fahrenheit exceptional in the first place.

I don't think people who love Hoover are wrong for their opinion. Personally, I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, and I've even read Twilight and ACOTAR and liked them. Are they strong examples of well written books? No, but they're entertaining, and because I've read them, I further appreciate every book I read that has stronger prose and solid character development.

I don't think people are superior for having read the classics. I think they're classics for a reason, and worth reading in their own right. But having read them doesn't imbue you with some sort of higher knowledge or prowess in reading. Classics alone don't make you think, and you can read just about anything—even something by Colleen Hoover—and come away with a meaningful interpretation.

If you want to get better at your own critical thinking, spend more time thinking about what you read. Pause after every chapter and ask yourself what the chapter revealed about each character. How did this chapter work to move the story forward? What do you think this is building up to? If you're interested in the writing style itself, reflect on things like the sentence length, the amount of description versus action that takes place in the chapter. Thinking about these things will help you not only figure out what you admire about the books you read, but it will also help you further develop your critical thinking skills in regards to reading.

If Colleen Hoover gets people to read, then I salute that. In my experience, people's taste evolves as they age.

Besides, not everyone reads for enrichment. Many people read simply for entertainment.

My main issue with booktok/booktube is those people who act better than allll the other readers because they only read classics. I even saw a video of a girl calling people who don't read them stupid, which honestly made me want to delete tiktok. First, reading isn't a competition, let people enjoy things!! Second reason it irks me is that English isn't the first language of many readers, me included. I prefer to read in English because 99% of the translations are just horrible and the books I like to read rarely get translated anyways. While I can comprehend more modern books with no issues, I find myself struggling to get through majority of the classics because the English being used in them is so much different. I honestly admire all the non-native speakers who don't struggle with it, yall rock. But, naturally, most non-native speakers will struggle with the English being used, and that doesn't mean they're stupid or less than anyone else. The elitism in the reading community is just not it.